Who is Dr Disrespect – and what has he been accused of?

Dr Disrespect has been an inescapable voice in the world of gaming for over a decade now.

As well as helping build and create games, including co-founding blockchain game studio Midnight Society, Dr Disrespect has built a loyal following through outspoken streams. At one point, he was one of Twitch’s most popular creators but was mysteriously banned from the platform in 2020.

After a public back and forth and a pivot to YouTube, it’s now been alleged that Dr Disrespect was banned for messaging a minor using Twitch’s whisper function. Following the news, he confirmed he would be taking an indefinite break from content creation.

Who is Dr Disrespect?

Dr Disrespect, real name Herschel Beahm, first made a name for himself as Diarrhea Panic by trash talking other players via Halo 2’s proximity chat. He pivoted to YouTube in 2010 and launched the Dr Disrespect character with Call Of Duty compilations, before partnering with popular gaming channel Machinima.

He went on to work with Sledgehammer Games as a community manager and level designer for Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare before leaving in 2015 to focus on his blossoming streaming career. Dr Disrespect quickly became one of Twitch’s biggest personalities, with streams focusing on battle royal titles.

Why was Dr Disrespect banned from Twitch?

Despite being temporarily banned from Twitch in 2019 after entering a bathroom while livestreaming from E3, Dr Disrespect signed a multi-year deal with Twitch in March 2020. However in June, his channel was shut down with Twitch saying it had received “evidence” that Dr Disrespect had “acted in violation of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service. Discord removed him from their partnership program the same day, though Dr Disrespect claimed neither platform had told him why.

In 2021, Dr Disrespect announced he would be suing Twitch, after losing a number of sponsorships and partnerships. The case was settled the following year, with neither party confirming any wrongdoing.

Earlier this month though, Twitch’s director of strategic partnerships Cody Conners claimed that Dr Disrespect had been banned because he had been inappropriately messaging a minor on the platform’s Whispers messaging function, with another former employee backing up the claims in a report to The Verge.

He got banned because got caught sexting a minor in the then existing Twitch whispers product. He was trying to meet up with her at TwitchCon. The powers that be could read in plain text.

Case closed, gang.

— Cody Conners (@evoli) June 22, 2024

 

What has Dr Disrespect said about the accusations?

Following the accusations, Dr Disrespect shared a short statement on social media. “I didn’t do anything wrong, all this has been probed and settled, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing was found, and I was paid,” he wrote, referencing the settlement with Twitch.

However, yesterday (June 25) he shared a longer statement that confirmed that he had been banned for messaging a minor via Twitch.

“Were there real intentions behind these messages, the answer is absolutely not,” he continued. “These were casual, mutual conversations that sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate, but nothing more. Nothing illegal happened, no pictures were shared, no crimes were committed, I never even met the individual.”

“I should have never entertained these conversations to begin with,” he added. “ I’m no fucking predator or pedophile [though].”

THE TWITCH BAN

Hello, I'd like to make a quick statement..

Lets cut the fucking bullshit, as you know there's no filter with me. I've always been up front and real with you guys on anything that I can be up front about, and I'm always willing to accept responsibility… which…

— Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) June 25, 2024

Has Dr Disrespect quit streaming?

Following the news, it was confirmed Midnight Society had “terminated” their working relationship with studio co-founder Dr Disrespect. “While these facts are difficult to hear and even more difficult to accept, it is our duty to act with dignity on behalf of all individuals involved, especially the fifty-five developers and families we have employed along with our community of players,” they wrote on social media.

Dr Disrespect also confirmed he would be taking a break from streaming, but in his recent statement he announced he would be returning eventually.

“If you think I’m a piece of shit, that’s fine. But I’m not fucking going anywhere,” he wrote. “I’m not the same guy that made this mistake all those years ago.  I’m taking an extended vacation with my family as mentioned on stream and I’m coming back with a heavy weight off my shoulders. They want me to disappear… yeah fucking right.”

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